Sarah Koenig’s podcast, “Serial”, is reported to average 2.3 million downloads per episode, has been downloaded 21 million times and is so addictive that it has even spawned podcasts whose purpose is just to rehash the most recent episode. But few fans are aware that as they pop in their earbuds every Thursday, they reenact what Sigmund Freud termed the “primal scene”. In the primal scene, the child discovers his parents in the act of sexual intercourse. The detective story gains its power from its manipulation of the primal scene, and “Serial” is a perfect example.

In 1949, psychoanalyst Geraldine Pedersen-Krag wrote a paper titled “Detective Stories and the Primal Scene”, which explored the popularity of detective fiction and asked why so many readers devour murder mysteries.

She laid out the necessary features of popular detective fiction: secret wrongdoings, a criminal hidden amongst respectable members of society, and a detective with unusual perceptive abilities, unlimited knowledge, and endless determination to solve the crime. She noted that the detective uses “trivial, commonplace, and apparently unconnected” observations as clues which eventually come together to form a narrative of the crime. Read More »

After a weeklong break that felt like an eternity, “Serial” returned this morning with episode 10, “The Best Defense Is a Good Defense.” As the title suggests, this latest installment looks heavily into Adnan Syed’s court cases – but not necessarily the arguments made against him. At this point, we’re pretty familiar with how the state presented its case. This time, Sarah Koenig explores Adnan’s defense, as constructed by his attorney, Christina Gutierrez. Like every episode thus far, more questions than answers are presented. Here are three important takeaways from this latest installment that will make anyone on Team Adnan feel for him even more. Read More »

The hit podcast “Serial” has offered its fans a plea deal: Give us money, and we’ll give you another season.

The show—a nonfiction series whose weekly installments explore whether the teenaged ex-boyfriend of a slain Baltimore high-school senior was wrongly convicted in her 1999 murder—made a direct appeal to listeners at the start of this Thursday’s episode. The program’s co-creator and narrator, Sarah Koenig, put it bluntly: “Do you want a season two of ‘Serial’? If so, I’m going to ask you for money.”

The first season of the show was largely funded by the public-radio program “This American Life.” Season two, which likely will come out next year, won’t have that luxury. On Thursday, the “Serial” website featured what the staff vows will be a one-week-only fundraising drive. People can also give via texting on their smartphones. Read More »

Over the last four years, comedian Paul Scheer (“The League,” Adult Swim’s “NTSF:SD:SUV”) has hosted a podcast about how bad movies are made, naturally called “How Did This Get Made?”

The show has become one iTunes most popular podcast downloads, with Scheer becoming not only an expert in terrible films, but the medium itself. He’s now taking that experience and curating a new podcast network called “Wolfpop,” which debuts today with 13 new shows.

The shows cover a wide range of topics, from the broad to the very niche. Longtime film critic Leonard Maltin has one called “Maltin on Movies.” A show from acclaimed author Susan Orlean and Sarah Thyre called “Crybabies,” focuses each week on what makes them and their guests cry. Comedians W. Kamau Bell and Kevin Avery will explore just Denzel Washington with their show called “Denzel Washington Is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period.” Read More »

Tom Magliozzi, who co-hosted the National Public Radio show “Car Talk” with his brother, Ray, for 37 years, died Monday morning from complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

The show’s website temporarily crashed following the announcement of Magliozzi’s death, according to the show’s longtime executive producer Doug Berman, who was known to the Magliozzis by a number of unflattering names including “The Subway Fugitive” and “Not A Slave To Fashion.”

During hour-long episodes of “Car Talk,” listeners called in with questions about automotive maladies but some of the most memorable discussions involved intimate advice on personal relationships. Read More »

This morning on SiriusXM’s “Howard Stern Show”Bill Murray popped by for a lengthy interview with the radio host ahead of his new movie “St. Vincent.” The interview opens up with Murray chomping on a danish and explaining how he got invited to George Clooney’s recent wedding. From there, they recalled his days working on “Saturday Night Live,” mentoring young actors and relationships with women.

“Is there something you question in your own life on why you haven’t found that great love of your life?” Stern asked.

“I do think about that,”Murray said. “I’m not sure what I’m getting done here. I have kids that I’m responsible for. I don’t think I’m lonely. It’d be nice to go to some of these things to have a date. There’s a lot that I need to do that I’m not doing. We’re kind of ugly if we look really hard.”

It’s a candid moment where Murray’s tone shifts into something somber and different from the fun-loving party-crashing Bill Murray everyone adores. Other nuggets from the interview: Murray thinks Bill Hader is the best “Saturday Night Live” performer ever and turning down roles in “Rain Man,”“Philadelphia,” and “Forrest Gump.”

Mainstream American audiences may not recognize his English accent over the radio, but Pete Tong’s name has been synonymous with dance music for the past two decades. As the host of his own show on BBC Radio 1 and co-producer of the station’s famed Essential Mix, he has been called everything from the ‘Pied Piper of House’ to the “global ambassador for electronic music.”

His guest roster reads like a who’s who in dance music, having interviewed and premiered tracks from the likes of Daft Punk, Paul Oakenfold, the Chemical Brothers, Sasha and Digweed, Swedish House Mafia and more recently, Disclosure. Tong has not only witnessed new trends develop; he has helped set them in motion. In many ways, Pete Tong has done — and continues to do — for dance music what Dick Clark did for rock and roll. Read More »

Don Pardo, the man whose name you may not recognize but whose voice you most certainly do, has passed away. He was 96.

Pardo, who was the announcer on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” for decades, died on Monday in Tucson, Ariz., according to the Associated Press.

Pardo launched his career more than 60 years ago after an NBC employee hired the young Massachusetts-born announcer after hearing his voice during a tour. He began in radio and soon moved into the still-new television medium. Pardo’s body of work included announcing for game shows such as “The Price is Right,” “Jeopardy!” and “Jackpot.” Read More »

As the frontman for Pawnee’s favorite bar band MouseRat, “Parks and Recreation” fans know Chris Pratt can carry a tune. But real-life Pratt is also a skilled rapper. Seriously.

While promoting his box-office smash “Guardians of Galaxy,” he stopped by SiriusXM’s Shade 45 for an interview on “The Whoolywood Shuffle” show. It was there he admitted his fondness for Dr. Dre’s 1999 album, “Chronic 2001.”

“Me and my friend lived in a van in Maui and we listened to that and smoked weed every day,” he said. “I know every word to that album.” Read More »

New York-based DJ duo “The Chainsmokers” are set to join the likes of Tiësto and Hardwell by hosting their own weekly radio show on SiriusXM, “Nice Hair with The Chainsmokers.” As relative newcomers to the electronic dance music scene, Drew Taggart and Alex Pall suddenly found themselves in the spotlight following the stunning success of their song #SELFIE (“But first, let me take a selfie”).

Now, with “Nice Hair” the duo is looking to move beyond the viral hit. While they acknowledge that the parody is “probably what gave them the show,” they see it as an opportunity to show people more about who they are. Read More »

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.